These ‘bodies’ are clumps of a sticky protein called alpha-synuclein that build up in nerve cells in the brain, causing damage and eventually death to these cells. Typically, they affect the brain cells that control movement.
One of the challenges in this area of research is the lack of models that faithfully recapitulate the pathological process that leads to Parkinson’s disease. To bypass this limitation, Dr George Tofaris and his team have used a diverse set of investigations, starting from observations in human pathological specimens which they then deciphered using simpler models such as neuronal cells, flies and biochemical studies with purified proteins.
Read more (Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences website)